No looking back

Saturday

RIVERSIDE  After his fumble killed the game's opening drive and he found his team trailing by two scores, Dionza Bradford's mind drifted back to last year.

Bradford and his Serrano teammates were determined not to be bounced out of the CIF semifinals like they were last season, and he responded by having the game of his life.

Bradford rushed for 261 yards and six touchdowns on 24 carries to lift the Diamondbacks into the CIF-Southern Section Eastern Division finals with a 49-36 victory over Norte Vista on Friday night.

"I just didn't want to lose; after the fumble I got mad at myself," said Bradford, Serrano's senior tailback. "Last year, Citrus Hill, that feeling of losing in the semifinals, I didn't want to feel that."

Behind Bradford and the offensive line, the Diamondbacks (11-2) overcame an early 14-0 deficit to dominate the second and third quarters, taking a 27-point lead before Norte Vista (11-2) put up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter when the outcome was set.

Serrano moves on to play the winner of tonight's Palm Springs-Kaiser game on Dec. 12. It will be the Diamondbacks third appearance in the finals, and they'll be going for their second title.

Early in the second quarter, it looked like the D'backs might be headed to their second consecutive loss in the semifinals and the third in the program's history.

The Braves responded to Bradford's first-quarter fumble with an 83-yard touchdown drive, rushing for every yard. Norte Vista scored again early in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead.

That's when Bradford changed the game. He ran for 76 yards on three carries on the next drive, scoring on a 4-yarder. He broke a 27-yarder on the next drive and capped it with a 10-yard TD, and he later added a 16-yard score to give Serrano the lead.

The D'backs were driving again in the closing seconds of the first half when Norte Vista's Christian Sandoval picked off a short Joey Peterson pass and ran 63 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion gave the Braves a 22-21 halftime lead.

"I blame myself as much as anybody," Serrano coach Ray Maholchic said. "I thought we could get it in there or kick a field goal at the end. You just kind of get greedy."

The Diamondbacks responded in the second half by doing more of what they'd done in the first half  handing the ball to Bradford.

He ran for scores of 8, 17 and 15 yards in the third quarter, most on toss sweep plays that Norte Vista seemed powerless to stop.

Serrano fullback Chris Kilmer made the score 49-22 with a 33-yard touchdown run up the middle at the end of the third quarter.

"We knew there would be a running game," Norte Vista coach Ken Batdorf said. "Our weakest point has been defense, unfortunately, all year long. They capitalized on everything. They took advantage of everything."

In a post-game huddle at midfield, Serrano coach Ray Maholchic told his players to "finish it out" and win the championship game to take their place in school history alongside the 2004 CIF title team.

"We've always talked about a dream," Maholchic said. "And that dream is a CIF title."